As for the red wines, first and foremost is Guigal's Cotes du Rhone. I re-tasted the 2010 Cotes du Rhone, which is still in foudre. This cuvee is typically a blend of 50% Syrah and the rest Grenache and perhaps some Mourvedre. Guigal is known throughout the Rhone Valley for paying the highest price for generic Cotes du Rhone, and that in large part explains the quality of this wine year in and year out. It enjoys an extended upbringing in foudre and stainless steel tanks and is always a dense ruby/purple-colored wine with lots of blue and black fruits intermixed with notions of kirsch, licorice, lavender and spice. Supple and surprisingly intense, this delicious effort can age for 4-5 years. (RP)
(12/ 2012)

Wine Spectator

*Smart Buys* Offers a roasted feel, with dark bramble, plum and tobacco notes accented by hints of pastis and apple wood, leading to a ganache- and charcoal-infused finish. Distinctive in feel, revealing a prominent yet integrated woodsy element.
(10/ 2013)

K&L Notes

"One of the reasons the classic 2010 Cotes du Rhone red is so good is because Guigal pays more for top fruit than others are willing to do," notes Robert Parker. (10/2012) From Josh Reynolds: "One thing you can always expect from a Guigal wine is intense fruit. The 2010 Côtes-du-Rhône, a mostly-syrah wine blended with grenache and a touch of mourvedre, offers assertive dark berry and floral elements and a suave spiciness that gives it uncommon complexity for a wine at this price. Believe it or not, this bottling ages very well, as recent bottles of the 1998 have proven to me... While Guigal’s high-end Côte-Rôtie bottlings are objects of desire for collectors around the world, in fact most of their wines are very fairly priced, and they’re available everywhere. Guigal’s entry-level Côtes-du-Rhône is consistently among the wine world’s best values, so in a great vintage like 2010 it’s a no-brainer. (on Winophilia) 14% abv.

2010 E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône

Wine Scores

Below is a listing of the wine review scores we frequently reference in our notes. While these sources remain an excellent source of information, we always recommend that you trust your own palate. Scores in these publications often represent the personal taste of an individual critic, which may not always coincide with your own. We have a huge team of excellent wine professionals that can match wines you've had in the past with new arrivals that meet your flavor profile.

Product Reviews:

Cote du Rhone wines are supposed to be minimum 40% Grenache by law except for vineyards north of Montélimar. Guigal is one of the few wineries that is part of this exception; they use Syrah as the dominate grape. In addition to paying the highest price for their Cote du Rhone fruit, Guigal is also one of the few wineries that makes their own barrels to cut down cost and raise quality. I've had their Cote du Rhone for many years and they never disappoint!

In 2010, a lingering cool spring in the Southern Rhône severely reduced crop yields and extended the harvest well into October, allowing the happy grapes to reach sublimely intense levels of both richness and structure -— the result one of the greatest vintages ever in the Rhône Valley. And who reaps the rewards? Enter E. Guigal, perhaps the Rhone's chief exponent of excellence, delivering an amazing spectrum of quality wines year after year. Their entry-level Côtes du Rhône, with redolent aromas and flavors of cherry, black plum, wood smoke and spice possesses astonishing degrees of balance, complexity and mouthwatering texture for a very modest price. Most definitely a "win-win(e)"...Enjoy!

Vintage after vintage I am amazed at the quality of this massive production and fairly priced wine. The 2010 bottling shows the power of the vintage in a full and chewy style, showing ripe black cherry fruit, kirsch, spice, tapenade and a hint of earth with some food friendly tannin on the finish. For those of you who missed the fantastic 2010 Southern Rhones, here is last call.

How Guigal manages to produce such a consistently delicious and well priced Cotes-du-Rhone never ceases to amaze me. And with the stellar quality of the 2010 vintage, boy are we in for a added treat. This perenially over-acheiving wine offers up rich dark berried fruit aromatics, along with just a touch of black tea and mineral nuance. A fine texture, and a clean buttoned up finish make for a well balanced wine with ripe tannins and good acidity. And despite its ubiquity, Guigal's rendition still remains for me the most quintessential Cotes-du-Rhone.

Additional Information:

Varietal:

Rhone Blends

Country:

France

- When it comes to wine, France stands alone. No other country can beat it in terms of quality and diversity. And while many of its Region, Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne most obviously, produce wine as rare, as sought-after and nearly as expensive as gold, there are just as many obscurities and values to be had from little known appellations throughout the country. To learn everything there is to know about French wine would take a lifetime. To understand and appreciate French wine, one only has to begin tasting them. Click for a list of bestselling items from all of France.

Sub-Region:

Rhone

- Legendary wine-producing region in southeast France. Stereotypically speaking, Rhone wines are high in alcohol, and the majority produced is red. The northern Rhone is best known for outstanding 100% Syrah wines from areas such as Cote Rotie and Hermitage, as well as for fabulous white wines from Condrieu (where Viognier is king). In the southern Rhone, look for spicy, full-bodied wines that are blends of Grenache, Syrah, and other varietals coming from appellations such as Chateauneuf du Pape, Gigondas, or Rasteau. Wines labeled as Cote du Rhone or Cotes du Rhone Village (a cut above generic Cotes du Rhone) are frequently found here in the US because they often represent some of the best values on the market. View our bestselling Rhone Valley wines.